Combined gold washer and amalgamator for placer-mining.



No. 682,545. Y* Patented Sept. IO, I9OI. W. L. HARRAMAN, F. O. CHAPMAN, C. SEVERIN & D. H. BROWN. COMBINED GOLD WASHER AND AMALGAMATOR FOR PLACER MINING.

l (Application led muy 5, 1900.) (No Modal.) 2 Sheets--Sheet I.

No. 682,545. satema-sept. lo, 19m. w. L. HARRAMAN, F. o. CHAPMAN, c.v SEVERIN & D. H. BRowN.

COMBINED GOLD WASHER AND AMALGAMATOH FOR PLACER MINING.

[Application filed May 5, 1900.)

- 2 SheetsSheet 2.

(No Model.)

TN: Noam: Eriks co, num auna., wAsmNcTon, n. c.

UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

WILLIAM L. HARRAMAN, FRED C. CHAPMAN, CHARLES SEVERIN, AND DAVID H. EROI/VN, OF GRAND JUNCTION, COLQRADO.

COMBINED GOLD WASHR AND AMALGAMATOR FOR PLACER-MINING.

SPECIFIGATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 682,545, dated September 10, 1901.

Application filed May 5, 1900. Serial No. 15,604. (No model To @ZZ whom it may concern:` Y

Be it known that we, WILLIAM L. HARRA- MAN, FRED O. CHAPMAN, CHARLES SEVERIN, and DAVID H. BROWN, citizens of the United States, residing at Grand Junction, in the county of Mesa and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Combined Gold Washerand Amalgamator for Placer-Mining; and We do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,- and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention' relates to combined gold washers and amalgamators for placer-minin g. One object of the invention is the provision of a machine which will automatically separate and throw aside or divert the coarse rock from the sand and fine vrock and wash out the gold from the materialin an improved manner. l

Another object of the invention is the provision of an improved automatic machine which will both wash the sand and ue rock and amalgamate the gold while passingtherethrough.

' Our invention contemplates the provision of an improved automatically -acting machine which will utilize the water to 'operate 30 itself and will be adapted to catch and amalgamate and save all of the gold and allow the free and uninterrupted discharge of the ne rock or gravel and the sand after the gold has been freed therefrom.

The foregoing objects are accomplished by the provision of a machine comprising a novel arrangement and combination of improved features, all of which are set forth in detail hereinafter, and recited in the .appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a side elevation; Fig. 2, a longitudinal section; Fig. 3, a plan View; Fig. 4, a detail View of the -lower end of the swinging flume; Fig. 5, a

detail view of the upper end of the vibratory or swinging flume, showing its connection with the stationary iiume.

The framework ofthe machine is shown at 1, and it is provided with an inclined smooth chute 2, down which the coarse material passes to the ground after it has been thrown from the swinging or vibratory flume. n The of wood and converged at their delivery end 4, where they are provided with a metallic .mouth Aor spill 5 for delivering the water and material from which the gold has been taken. The upper or receiving endof the swinging flume is also converged and from this point on to the extreme endv is made straight and narrow, as at 7, where it passes loosely and freely between the portions of the chute 2. This narrow receiving end is provided with a screen 8, which has its receiving end 9 disposed low down in the swinging fiume and its forward end reachingto the tops of the sides of the flume at 10. This screen is so arranged that it is on a slight incline-that is to say, its end l0 is slightly higher than its receiving end 9-so that as the liumevibrates in the direction of its length the rock, gravel, and sand will be slightly retarded intheir forward movement in order to give vthe sufficiently line material ample time in which to pass down through the screen, While the coarser'material, which is not intended to pass through the machine, isradvanced until it reaches a covered parti 11 on theliume,-

which is provided with a divider or separator 12, made with converged sides 13 and 14 and formed either from a hard-wood block or an angular piece of metal, where ,it` isshakenr mated-copperplate15,formed into a plurality ofv upward iuclines 16 and the abrupt downwardly-extending inclines 17, which provide the pans or pocketsl 18, inwhich'liquid mercury 19 is held, thereby providingbaths through or over which the material m ust pass,

which insure the amalgamation y of. the gold. In the lower vconverged end of the 'swinging f flume is a series of transverselyeXtending parallelwooden strips or slats 20, placed closely adjacent. each other, which constitute riiiies adapted to catch any amalgam which may escape the amalgamating device and to eyes 22 on the sides of the vibratory iume, the arrangement of the rods being such that the flume is suspended in an inclined position from its receiving end to its delivery end, free to swing in the direction of its length. A coil-spring 23, connected to Ithe swinging iiume and the frame, is adapted to give the fiume a quick reactionary movement after it has been moved rearwardly by the mechanism hereinafter described. There it a cross beam or bar 24 secured to the bottorn of the fiume and adapted to abut on elastic cusions 25 on the frame. The bar or beam by abruptly striking the cushions after the flume is pulled to normal position by the spring suddenly arrests the movement of the flume, thereby giving it a jar or jolt, which i .very materially assists and facilitates the forward and downward movement of the material on the flume. Journaled in suitable bearings on the frame and on opposite sides of the swinging iiume are guide or antifriction rollers 2G, against which the Iiu me runs when it is in vibration.

The numeral 27 designates a stationary iiu me which conducts the water, gravel, sand, and rock to the swinging {lume-that is, onto the screen at the upper end thereof. This stationary fiume is provided with false sides 2S, which loosely and freely receive the lnetallic sides at the upper end of the swinging fiume between themselves and the sides of the stationary fiume, thereby effecting a suitable connection between the swinging fiume and the stationary flume which prevents the loss of the material or water and insures its delivery onto the screen, while at the same time permitting the free and uninterrupted vibrations or oscillations of the swinging fiume. XVe employ an overshot water-wheel 29, carried by a shaft 30, mounted in suitable bearings on a supplemental frame 3l and provided with a belt-pulley 32.

The numeral 33 designates a cam-shaft jonrnaled in bearings on the main frame and provided with a belt-pulley 34, which is belted to pulleys by a crossed belt 85. The camshaft carries a wiper-cam 36in the present instance a three-point onewhich is located underneath the spill on the swinging flume and adapted to wipe against a trip-block 37, secured to the bottom of the fiume.

The numeral 3S designates a stationary spill suitably supported by the framework, which receives the water from the iiume and delivers it to the water-wheel.

The operation is as follows: The sand, gravel, rock, and water are directed into the stationary flume, from which they pass onto the screenin the swinging flume. The water iowing down through the swinging flume sets the water-wheel in revolution, whereupon the cam intermittently forces the swinging flume backward and abruptly releases it, whereupon the gravity of said fiume, supplemented by the retractive action of the spring, causes the iiume to return quickly to its normal position, and the cross-beam coming in contact with the cushioning devices on the frame abruptly stops the swinging action, thereby giving the fiume a jolt or jar. This action being repeated continuously causes all material of proper size to pass through the screen and onto the amalgamated plate,while the coarse material is advanced by the action along the top of the screen until it reaches the divider, whereupon it is diverted laterally off of the fiume and discharges down the chute to the ground. The material which has passed through the screen is washed down the amalgamated plate by the water and bythe jolting and swinging action, and as it passes over the plate and through the mercury-baths the gold is amalgamated and the useless material passes on and out of the flume. The riftles catch and save any amalgam which may escape from the plate.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In an ore washer and amalgamator, the combination of a longitudinallyvibrating iume having an amalgamating-bottom provided with mercury-holding pockets located at intervals along its length, said flume having its sides converged at its delivery end, a series of transverse, closely-juxtaposed, parL allel slats constituting amalgam-catching rifies disposed between the converged sides of the flume, a screen carried by the flume at the upper or receiving end thereof, above the fiume-bottom, and adapted to receive the material prior to entering the iin me, said screen being inclined upwardly from its receiving to its opposite end, whereby the material is retarded in its forward motion on the screen, and an angular divider located at the higher end of the screen with its apex directed thereto, said divider being adapted to divert the coarse material laterally from the screen and over the sides of the fiume. i

2. In a device of the class described, the combination with a swinging or vibrating flume, of a stationary flume adapted to deliver the water and material to the swinging iume, said stationary iiume having Vfalse sides which loosely and freely receive the sides of the end of the swinging Iiumebetween themselves and the sides of the stationary flume.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM L. I-IARRAMAN.

FRED O. CHAPMAN.

CHARLES SEVERIN.

DAVID II. BROWN.

iVitnesses:

J. S. CARNAHAN, F. L. RICH.

IOS

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